About 1% of people in the UK think that their ears stick out too much. Having protruding ears does not usually affect a person’s hearing, but they can sometimes cause embarrassment and psychological distress.
Ears are one of the first parts of the body to develop to full adult size, so if they protrude they can be particularly noticeable in children and may lead to teasing or bullying.
Sometimes, the parents of a child with protruding ears worry more than the child. They are often concerned that their child’s ears will upset the child and lead to them being bullied at school.
Adults with protruding ears can have practical problems. For example, they may find it difficult to wear certain items of headgear, such as a motorbike helmet. Women with protruding ears may also feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about wearing their hair up.
The outer ear
The outer ear, known as the pinna, is made up of a number of ridges of cartilage. The outer ear collects and channels sound waves into the middle ear before they are transferred to the inner ear. Sound information is then sent from the inner ear to the brain.
Cartilage is a tough, flexible tissue that is found throughout the body. It is used as a shock absorber in joints and for creating specially shaped and curved body parts that would otherwise have no support from the bones, such as the outside of the ears and the nose.
Protruding ears
Protruding ears can be a characteristic that runs in families, but they often occur for no obvious reason.
The outer ear is designed to stick out from the side of the head at an angle of about 20 to 35 degrees. However, in a small number of people, the angle is more than 35 degrees, resulting in protruding ears.
Protruding ears can happen if there is too much cartilage, or if the ridge of cartilage at the top of the ear does not fold properly during development. They can also be the result of an injury to the ears.
Remodelling
Surgery to reshape the ears involves remodelling the cartilage into a more attractive and less obvious shape. The two main techniques for correcting protruding ears are:
- ear splinting – a procedure that can be used to treat babies who are six months old or younger; it involves reshaping the soft cartilage and using a splint (support) to keep the ear in the new position
- otoplasty – a surgical technique, sometimes known as a pinnaplasty, where the cartilage is remodelled to create the missing folds and position the ear closer to the head
For more information about ear splinting and otoplasty, see Ear reshaping - when it should be done and how it is performed.
Availability on the NHS
Financial support for treating protruding ears varies considerably between different primary care trusts (PCTs).
Some PCTs will not fund corrective treatment that is carried out purely for cosmetic reasons. Others may request psychological or psychiatric reports as proof that a person’s ears are causing them significant psychological distress before agreeing to fund any treatment.
A number of criteria have to be met for an otoplasty to be made available on the NHS. Ear splints are available in some PCTs and GP surgeries. See Ear reshaping - availability for more information.
